Like Air
by crazygirlne
Summary: The Doctor, afraid he's going to lose Rose soon, finally gives into his urges.


Prompt from Tumblr: Ten x Rose, desperate shag.

Author's Note: If it isn't implied by the prompt's including a shag, this is NSFW and adult. It's also a bit angsty, which I don't usually write, so I figure it deserves a warning.

Beta: scullywolf

* * *

The tension between the Doctor and Rose had been rising, attraction growing since he'd admitted he "danced." After his regeneration, they'd acted like a couple more often than not, but they never crossed any solid lines.

Sure, there was the occasional exuberant kiss after a particularly close call, and as far as personal space, well… what personal space?

But there was never a kiss that was clearly romantic, never a declaration of feelings or an attempt to be "more." Today, though, their mutual attraction had been nearly tangible. It had taken much of his considerable capacity for concentration to keep his hands off of Rose Tyler, to keep from taking her right there in the alley as they investigated disappearances, and if the scent of arousal surrounding her was any indication, Rose was entertaining very similar thoughts.

As they'd headed towards the Olympic games after righting their dose of wrong for the day, their hands had found each other, drawn together without conscious thought.

"We'll always be okay, you and me," said Rose, chipper and optimistic. "Don't you reckon, Doctor?"

He sensed an approaching loss, a big event, fixed in time, hurtling towards them, impossible to stop. He looked to the sky, not really seeing, trying again to decipher the tangled mass of timelines, always more difficult to read when they related to him directly.

"Something in the air, something coming," he told her. He didn't want to see her frightened again, not like she'd been after their encounter with the Beast, but as the disturbance grew nearer, he found himself unable to keep from warning her, at least in a limited way. The Doctor and Rose often thrived on the unknown, but this was different.

"What?" she asked, pressing herself close to him, his concentration slipping as he felt her breast against his arm.

"A storm's approaching," he told her, watching the sky a moment longer before turning to look at the blonde who stood next to him. He studied her, inhaling deeply as the tension grew again. He knew all the reasons he shouldn't act on his desire, the reasons he couldn't. She was so young, so human, so… So very Rose. He had resisted, had pulled back time and time again. To go all in and then lose her, it would be devastating, and for her… Though he couldn't stand to even imagine her with anyone else, he knew she deserved someone without his darkness, someone with whom her light would shine unobstructed instead of serving as a beacon for a man who'd destroyed worlds.

He could continue lying to himself, continue telling himself that he wasn't already irrevocably attached to his companion, that he had the remotest chance of avoiding self-destruction when he eventually lost her.

Only, it was harder to pretend when he suspected that "eventually" was coming much faster than either of them had ever expected.

She took a step closer, placing her free hand on his chest and derailing his train of thought.

"Doctor," she said, "are you okay? You're staring."

He released the breath he hadn't been aware he was holding, her name escaping with his exhalation.

"Rose…"

"What is it?" she asked, warm eyes searching his.

He raised his left hand to cup the back of her head, refusing to let go of her hand with his right, as he leaned down slightly and closed the distance between them, crushing his lips to hers as if his life depended on this taste of Rose Tyler. He pulled back, eyes dark, and looked at Rose, whose breath was coming quickly, her own eyes dilated, her scent nearly overwhelming to him. She licked her lips.

"Doctor," she started, "what's…"

She was interrupted by his lips against hers again, silencing her effectively. When he finally pulled back, just enough to allow her to catch her breath, his face nearly touching hers, she spoke again.

"Don't need to see the games tonight. TARDIS is closer, yeah?"

Impossibly, the Doctor's eyes darkened even further as he squeezed her hand and nodded before setting off towards the TARDIS at a brisk pace. He knew he should change course, should take them somewhere they wouldn't give in, make it clear the kiss had been a mistake, but he couldn't. The need to be closer to her, as close as she'd allow him, was overriding any other conscious thought. They reached the TARDIS quickly, and as soon as the doors closed, he spun around, pressing her back against the door and his hips against hers, hands pulling her close as he explored her mouth with his own.

Without breaking their kiss, Rose slipped his coat and then his suit jacket over his shoulders, letting them fall to the floor. She tugged his shirt from his trousers, his desperation catching, fueling her need for him. His hands fisted into the material of her shirt, then slipped under it, cool hands skimming her warm torso, making her gasp. She reached for the fastenings on his trousers, and he pulled back slightly to look into her eyes.

"Are you sure?" he asked, hoping she'd give him a reason to stop, dreading it.

She let go of him, letting her jacket slide off her arms before she pulled off her shirt, returning her hands carefully, deliberately to where they were before he'd stopped.

"Are you?" she returned, and he took her mouth again in response, hooking fingers into her belt loops to pull her firmly against his erection before giving her enough space to succeed in her task, moving his own hands to nimbly unfasten her trousers, slipping them over her hips at the same time she finally got his down.

He slid her bra strap over her shoulder and pushed enough of the material out of the way to allow him to release her mouth and fasten his lips on a hard nipple, tongue swiping over the peak, making her gasp again as she clung to his shirt. Knickers and pants quickly found their way to the floor, the Doctor's lips on Rose's mouth again as he explored with his hands, drawing in a ragged breath when he found she was already wet enough to accommodate him. She moaned into his mouth as his damp fingers slid over her clit, and he pressed his forehead against hers as he made an attempt to slow things down, to move at the pace he'd imagined when he thought about giving in, but the thought of letting her go even long enough to move to a more comfortable location filled him with something akin to panic.

Rose whimpered and moved against his hand, reaching hers down to firmly grasp his erection. He moved his hands to her hips, fingers pressing firmly, possessively into her skin, not enough to hurt.

"Rose," he managed, "I need…"

Rose let go of him and linked her hands behind his neck.

"You have me, Doctor," she said.

In one smooth motion, he lifted her and entered her as she wrapped her legs around him, moist heat surrounding him as he took as long a moment as he could stand to let her adjust to his size. He needed no further encouragement than her squeezing him closer with her heels against his back. He began thrusting with little finesse, Rose's panting and sounds of pleasure reassuring him that this was okay. His speed increased, tempo becoming erratic as Rose's vocalizations became almost frantic with need.

The Doctor set a part of his mind to memorizing every sound, every scent, every feeling that was being buried deep inside Rose Tyler. If the coming storm was to tear them apart…

"I can't lose you," he whispered between heavy breaths.

"'M right here, Doctor," Rose told him, pausing between words, her orgasm close enough that her inner muscles had begun to clench at him, pulling him even closer to his release. "I'm not going anywhere."

"Rose," he breathed, and with a few final thrusts, each of them shouted as they came, Rose's head tilted back towards the closed door, her fingers digging into his shoulders. He slowed and she relaxed, resting her face against his neck as she worked to catch her breath.

When she seemed ready, he slowly set her down, holding her a moment before stepping back, careful not the trip on the pile of clothes that had pooled at and around his feet. He opened his mouth to speak, closing it again when he found himself unable to talk, unable to decide what needed to be said. Rose smiled at him, softly, understanding him as only she did. She reached up a hand to caress his face, and he leaned into her palm, taking comfort in her touch. She looked down for a moment, then back at him, an amused expression on her face.

"I'm gonna go clean myself up," she said. "Maybe after you're ready, we can see what's on the telly?"

He nodded, fighting the urge to shove his hands into the pockets of trousers he wasn't currently wearing. She kissed him on the lips, briefly, then gathered her clothes, grinning at him again before heading towards her room. His grin in return faded as she moved out of sight.

They were going to be torn apart, and soon. He could feel it, knew it even more surely than he had earlier that evening. He picked up the scattered pieces of his suit and took a deep breath. Having finally crossed the line from friends to Rose Tyler's lover, he refused to go back. Instead, he'd make sure he did everything he could to keep her safe, to ensure that their separation wasn't from a loss of life as the Beast had implied. He'd take her to see her mum soon, just in case, and then he'd pretend everything was normal, that he was an appropriate match for such an amazing woman, let her feel she was part of a proper couple.

And maybe, just maybe, he'd start to believe that he deserved the human whom he so needed in his life.


End file.
